"I hope I have a little talent, but a lot of it was luck. I went through setbacks. People said I looked too young, people said I wasn't good, nobody said, 'Come here, baby, we're going to make you a star.' Early on, when I'd say, 'Can I do some anchoring?'"
~ Katie Couric
A woman with loads of talent and popular with millions, broadcast journalist Katherine Anne Couric (1957-) was born on this day in Arlington, Virginia, the youngest of four children. A straight-A student, she decided on Journalism after college.
"I don't think I'm disgustingly wholesome," she explained. "But I don't feel I should be an apologist for the fact that I don't have a dysfunctional family."
As co-host of the NBC Today Show (1991-2006), her cheery personality and credible news casting kept the show #1 in the ratings. With skill, Katie perpetuated the respect her predecessor Jane Pauley had established for 13 years.
In March 2000, Couric launched a national campaign to increase awareness about colon cancer. Her husband died at age 42 from the disease in 1998. "I feel so passionately about this, because of personal experience and the tremendous void I saw that needed to be filled," she said.
She won a Peabody Award for her Confronting Colon Cancer five-part series. "This comes from the purest place for me, it comes from such an important place, in terms of my desire to educate people."
When Couric signed a lucrative contract in December 2001 for $60 million over 4 1/2 years, she became the highest-paid woman in network news. She made history again (2006-2011), becoming the first solo woman anchor, this time with CBS Nightly News.
About her appeal, Couric said, "I think I have the ability to laugh at myself... And I don't think I'm better than other people. I don't have an air of superiority. If anything, I think I'm a bit of a reverse snob."
Everyone needs a little luck with their talent.